Promise

Promise—the not in the here; the future in the present. That dark night of new moon that will wax into the beautiful gift of the full moon. We live in that new moon shadow, the shadow of the light that is to be but not yet. We are people of the promise, we live in the “not” and in the “future.” We have received the promise, but not what is yet promised (1). The promise—the promise planted in the forbidden Garden of Eden, cut by God to Abraham, etched in the law, declared by Nathan to the astounded David, refashioned by weeping prophets, given concrete form in the babe of a virgin, spoken from the open heavens by him who holds the seven stars with a mouth like a two-edged sword and a flaming face. It, too, is ours. We, too, our part of this eternal story of promise. It sweeps over my days and moments, gilding them with glory. Remember.

The promise is sure—sure—as sure as our eternal God who does not change like shifting shadows (Jas. 1:17), as sure as the blood shed on the cross. Dark, red, drops. Concrete promise. The sure and steadfast anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19). More real than the cross they dripped down (Hebrews 10:1), dripping from down the incarnate God’s arms, down the woody terrene cross, into the heavenly sanctuary, sprinkled on the heavenly altar before which the cherubim quake and cry holy. Imagine—angels quaked before the blood on the celestial altar. This is the anchor for our promise. Cling.

Nor is the promise distant. It has echoed for years, and may still be waxing true for many, many years. Yet, the promise is as near as its mediator (2). Christ the ascended, in the heavenly throne—distant. Christ who is our life, Christ with whom we are in union—close, so close. Our very life. And Luke calls the Spirit himself the promise (Acts 2:33)—close (3). The Promise-Spirit, dwelling in us, shaping us, forming us, uniting us, sealing us, guaranteeing us. One of the Triune God himself as our surety. The Spirit as promise—as the presence of the Lord; as seal of adoption of many sons; as guarantee of heaven the holy land; the sign of the exalted Davidic King. Thus, the Spirit is the encapsulation of the promise to Abraham, Moses, the prophets, the land-blessing-descendants-presence promise together in one being, in us, with us, for us (4). Feel the Promise of the Promiser by the Promise-Achiever wrapping himself around you. Each moment guarded. Sure, sure, the Presence whispers. Listen.

NOTES

(1) Paul Minear, “Promise,” in Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1962), 3:893-4.

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.

(4) Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Old Testament in Contemporary Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House).